An Unlikely Alliance

[Anders]

​

Naboo, Chommel sector, GC-O-17​

15:23 GST​

​

Power convertors shutting down
Stabilizers offline.
Repulsors initiated, ejecting boarding ramp.

A lustrous saucer-like vessel, a state-of-the-art YT-1760 freighter, made a delicate alight into the compact terminal of Theed. The starship made a final groan before completely shutting down as the azure thrusters disappeared. Swiveling in the chair, Anders stood onto his boots and holstered a pistol. Modestly dressed, two pauldrons were festooned on his shoulders held together by a leatheris bandolier crisscrossing over his body.

Stepping out of the cockpit, he ambled into the congested storage room. A silvery, hunched Gotal rummaged through several crates that smelled of exotic herbs and substances. Lars Vann, his jagged horns protruding out of his cranium, sorted through myriad cylindric vials filled with all manner of colors. They'd met in some lounge back on the smuggler's moon, deep in the recess of a private room. Stumbling over his own words, the Gotal spoke of a bizarre debacle regarding unpaid debts to a local crime lord. He spared little details, but the prospect of 15,000 credits for safe passage was enough for Anders to take the job.

Why the hell didn't he just say that? Would'a saved me six precious minutes.

"You all set?"

"Y-yes!" Vann blurted out, snapping his neck over with bulging red eyes. "After you, bounty hunter."

Anders shot an incredulous glance before motioning him further. He sauntered down the ramp where the inspection crew stood waiting, monitoring the magnetically-sealed crates.

"I have received the coordinates from the buyer." said Vann, pointing to the public foyer. "When he arrives we may go our separate ways."

Anders neglected to reply. The duo waited in a private terminus for this supposed buyer. Something told him this wasn't very safe...

Naboo was surely no Outer Rim backwater. But with the squabbling elites of the planet's nobility, there was no shortage of espionage and debauchery. The smuggled drugs could easily be worth millions, if not more. Perfect prey for an opportunist bounty hunter.

Hopefully, this would just be a routine operation...

[member="Voska Naudir"]

 

[EllieEx]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbQTcpfAlCk&list=​

Voska had history with The gotal, Vann. The alien was the first one to sell the mandalorian deathsticks in his younger years, back when he'd just left krieg to escape the political climate of the mandalorian empire. Vann had fed his addiction for years, weakening voska and bringing ruin to his name. When his addiction was finally cured some years later, He'd sworn to track down every last poison peddler he'd come across, And a few weeks ago, He'd gotten the chance to finally track one of them down when vann's luck had run out with a debt to one of the many crime lords voska had worked with before. "I'll do it for free..." Was his response.

He'd stuck his ID10 probe droid to that ship before this trip, tracking it from system to system, only moving the droid when he needed to listen in to the odd conversation or two. Vann didn't know when to shut up, always letting just a little much slip, and one of slips was a wealthy patron on naboo, one willing to trade protection for an easy heap of narcotics.. That was his chance. Voska was already ahead of on naboo ahead of schedule when the ship arrived.

A trio of individuals approach enter the terminus and approach, The one In the center was dressed in a smooth leather tunic and white cape, probably the noble, the man to his right was dressed in a much wider cloak that wrapped around the man's body, save for a small slit on the left that allowed free movement of the arm that gripped on a pronged staff, his face was hidden by bandage like cloth and a hood, probably some outer rim thug that he had recruited. the second individual looked more interesting, clad a light cream coloured armour that looked almost imperial in nature, and contrasted well with the small leather shoulder cape that he wore. He was armed with a slender forcepike that he held to his side.

"I trust that your journey was pleasant, mister vann?" The noble spoke as the trio came to a stop about 10 feet from the two of them.

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

"Hardly," growled Vann. "We're four hours late thanks to this bounty hunter."

The bile etched into his final words boiled Anders' blood, clenching his fists and shooting the alien a vicious glare. "You know I could just kill you and drag your mangy corpse back to Nar Shaddaa and still get paid." He wasn't kidding.

Vann seemed to catch the implication. "Yes yes, I jest. Here-"

"Perhaps we should conduct this exchange elsewhere?" Interrupted a man clad in an elegant suit of armor, wielding a menacing forcepike in his other hand. "Our airbus will do fine."

"Indeed," replied the noble. He motioned everyone before stopping to stare at Anders, dubious and uncertain. "I believe I haven't made your acquaintance?"

"Just a mercenary," Anders replied flatly. "I'm here to get paid and leave."

The noble arched a brow. "I see." He turned tail and led the group to an airbus.

[member="Voska Naudir"]

 

[EllieEx]

The "Bodyguard" in the dustier, ragged clothing lets the others move first, while they pull rear security. He walks with the group for a moment before walking beside anders

"You want to make some extra credits?" He says in a hushed voice, an electronic undertone and a light westralian accent may have been noticeable as he he spoke out from under the hood and bandages that obscured his face. "...Can you fly that ship back there?"

He walked with straight posture, holding his staff close to him, he kept his eyes forward, doing his best not to look out of place or attract any further attention to himself from anyone other than anders.

Meanwhile the others were getting into the airbus, it'd be there turn to board soon.

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

Anders stopped and looked the man up and down, scrutinizing the man's ragged ensemble.

"How much credits we talking?"

[member="Voska Naudir"]

 

[EllieEx]

"Whatever's he paying, He's worth more" He whispers, leaning in a little closer for a moment "Just don't ask questions and everything'll be just fine" He then clambers into the airbus and sits down, leaning his staff against the wall and seemingly adjusting his cloak. Anders might have noticed the small probe droid crawl across the ground before latching itself to the airbus.

Voska knew that if he was going to do this, it needed to happen in the airbus. There wouldn't be any witnesses, no one would hear the commotion inside the airbus once it got moving. He hadn't counted on anders' presence though, he didn't know anything about him save that he was a mercenary, a bodyguard currently. Judging by the way he and vann interacted with one another though, he was probably being underpaid, probably didn't get along either. depending on the bodyguard's views, he might be able to turn him onto his side, which would be preferable to blasting him. The mandalorian had no qualms with him, and more fighting meant more questions later.

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

Anders tailed the bodyguard tentatively, keeping a watchful eye on the sandy mercenary. The cohort entered the spacious airbus, adorned in radiant gold and lavender and draped with luminous diamonds. Rather ostentatious for Anders' taste, but he appreciated the urbanity of the vessel's installments.

The airbus rose with an energized shriek, levitating into midair and wheeling into the public skylanes. An aura of tension simmered in the stuffy air of the moving vessel. The nobles discussed discretely with Lars Vann, leaving Anders and the other bodyguard in taut silence. He was still unsure of the man, encased in dense Mandalorian armor. He seemed distracted, plotting with his head hung ominously low.

Instinctively, he reached for his pistol, poised to unsheathe it. His gut told him something was about to happen. Anders braced himself for what's next.

[member="Voska Naudir"]

 

[EllieEx]

The noble and vann were too busy discussing their plans to really pay attention to anders and voska, this was good. the other bodyguard would naturally be more attentive than them, but as far as he knew, the mandalorian was on their side, meaning that voska would have slightly more flexibility to maneuver and plot. Anders hadn't said anything, which meant at the very least that he was considering what voska had said, He could have shouted or said something by now, so the mandalorian could trust him, for the moment.
In adjusting his cloak, voska had gotten his hand on his pistol underneath with little to no suspicions. It was almost time..

3...

The mental countdown began in his head with a quick side glance to anders, or rather, him visibly looking in his direction through the helmet for a moment before seemingly returning his gaze at the scenery outside of the airbus.

2...

The Probe busts through the through the glass on the driver's side, arcs of electricity project from the probe, stunning the driver before the probe drops in to take control, working quickly to slice into the system, the noble and his bodyguard are soon distracted by the commotion.

1..

Voska Stands suddenly, hurtling himself at vann and grabbing him by the collar with his crushgaunt, slamming him against the wall. His right arm crossed over the other with a blaster pistol, quickly sending a few violet blaster bolts into the noble's leg, he was likely no longer a concern. The bodyguard was a different story however, He was now on voska, attempting to wrestle the blaster out of his hand. If voska were to simply let go of vann and attack with his crushgaunt, He'd be fine, but voska wasn't about to let him go after all this time.

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

Glass shards dispersed as the metallic frame of a probe droid scuttled into the airbus, making way for the control room. The vessel banked and slammed into the ground as the repulsors failed temporarily before reversing.

The Mandalorian jolted from his seat and pinned Vann into the wall, shooting one of the nobles in the process. The remaining two cowered helplessly as they scrambled for their comlinks. Anders delivered two precise hits before they could call for help, though the speeding airbus would likely give enough indication that something was awry.

/That bastard!/ he thought. By the looks of it the mercenary was getting ready to kill the Gotal. Anders wouldn’t have cared if he’d already gotten paid, but the bloody alien insisted only after he was retrieved at the nobles’ estate.

He pointed his pistol at the nape of the Mando’s neck. “Put him down. Or else.”

[member="Voska Naudir"]

 

[EllieEx]

A long, grumbling sigh makes it's way through the mandalorian's vocal enhancer, leaving some static at the tale end.

"I already told you that he's worth more than he's paying..."

It was time to think, and think fast... The others were scrambling for their commlinks, which meant that local security would be on their way soon, except that anders had shot them, a curious thing, considering that he was on their side, evident by the blaster against the mandalorian's neck..
The droid could deal with it but not fast enough and certainly not while flying the damned bus, and of course he had to get the blaster away, and fast.

He puts his blaster to vann's throat.

"If it's his money that you're after, then be warned that he can't pay you while he's gasping for air.. You shoot me now, there's an Incredibly high chance that this hand will tense on reaction, burning a hole through your employer's throat faster than you can do a damn thing about it.. This helmet and cuirass are thick enough that you can't hit anything vital enough to lower those chances, So I suggest you think of something else mate.."

That was the thing about voska, He didn't have much to lose anymore. Where any mandalorian would give you the whole "Mandalorians don't fear death, we've just come to accept it" spiel, Voska very literally didn't fear death, He only feared dying without honor. It led him to acts that some believed insanity, Maybe they were right, maybe they were wrong, but at the end of the day it really didn't matter.

Another thing that voska "feared" was leaving vann's pitiful life without conclusion before he departed, and for that conclusion to go over without vann realizing just who voska was, More or less he needed one final conversation with vann before this was through, and he couldn't have that if they were both dead. Maybe if he could get anders into a conversation of sorts, he'd have time to think and react

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

Anders tensed at the sandy mercenary's monologue, his dry honeyed words attempting to deescalate a situation gone dreadfully wrong.

The Gotal writhed impotently, his bulgy maroon eyes stricken with terror. Damn coward.

The Mandalorian made a reasonable point, though. Vann's death would leave him without the payment he was promised prior, even though he could just sell his organs on the black market. That'd take far too much effort, though. What was infuriating, however, was the Mandalorian's veiled threat. The gall of this bastard! First he arrived uninvited, compromised the airbus, and then attempted to murder his contractor.

His armor may withstand blaster bolds - but that's hardly the only way to kill a man.

Still, Mandalorians were a fearsome people, Anders very much respected that. He was confident in his own abilities, but starting a close-quarters brawl with a heavily armed commando would be a fool's errand. And time consuming.

Not only that, Anders was very much afraid of death. Petrified of it. It's truly a wonder how he even got himself into this business.

He lowered his pistol and sheathed it. "Let's get talking, then."

[member="Voska Naudir"]

 

[EllieEx]

He may have arrived uninvited, True. Was he making threats? No, A Mandalorian doesn't make threats, He makes a promise. Or at least, that's what they said anyway.
Did he have some gal? Yes indeed. Was he here with the intent to murder ander's employer? You could say that, Or could say that he was here to deliver justice as voska thought, or would like to think.

"Let's get talking, then."

In all honesty, The mandalorian didn't expect to hear those words, Few people seemed to have any sense these days, That and usually this would have been the cue for a long monologue about either how pathetic the mandalorian was, or how great his opposition was. "Alright.. Talking it is"

He slowly lowered his own pistol down into his holster before turning and sitting down, Vann still held tightly in the grip of his crushgaunt.
To the mandalorian's surprise, when he turned he saw that anders had holstered his weapon.

"If I Know vann here, He's underpaying you. What, Five, ten, Fifteen? maybe twenty thousand credits at the most? That's maybe four hyperspace jump's worth of fuel? And that's assuming the station isn't cheating you.. Your friend here's worth a lot more than that. Now, I would have offered to take this scum for free... We have something of a history you might say" He sighs, pausing for a moment "But a bounty hunter Can Never work for free. But for a discount, that I can do. So, How much is this worth to you?"

If he could negotiate a price, Everything should work out just fine, He could make some creds on the side, finish a quest of vengeance and maybe not blast quite as people today. In contrast to the stereotypical mandalorian, he actually didn't like killing people. well, that was a lie, he enjoyed it, but only if it was the right kind of people. so far anders wasn't on that list.

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

Anders stepped back and crossed his arms.

The bounty hunter was good with words. That much was certain. And truthfully, he was rather persuasive. It never really occurred to Anders if he was being underpaid - it's not like most dealers are generous with their money, even with their contracts. Sure, he could've robbed Vann, take all his credits, sell the drugs himself and buy a sumptuous flat in an artsy district on Corellia.

But the Gotal's putrified tentacles stretched far and deep in Hutt Space, which would make any attempt at theft foolhardy.

"27,000." That's not too much, right? He aimed to maximize his profit by whatever margin possible - but he also had to be realistic. "You got a name?"

[member="Voska Naudir"]

 

[EllieEx]

"Voska, Of clan Naudir" He says, turning to look at vann to gauge his reaction. He wanted to see if the gotal Remembered him, Remembered bringing the mandalorian to ruin as he fed his addiction to that damned poison, If he Remembered His promise to Vann: That the next time they met, He would surely die, But how he died would rest on a chance cube.
He kept his gaze on vann as he spoke the following words "Twenty seven thousand, You've got a deal. What about you, got a name or people?"

It mught have seemed nosy to some, But voska had just given up his name and that of his clan, wouldn't be the rudest thing to ask for the same in return, right?

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

"Anders," he replied. "I've got no people."

It stung to hear himself say that. Anders was abandoned sometime around nine years old, he couldn't remember, and ended up living in n a decrepit orphanage and the treets. The headmaster was a vile woman of ghastly proportions, and he fled the orphanage when he was twelve.

It was there he found the mercenary trade a suitable occupation. Eventually, of course. As a young boy he carried out petty jobs for local gangsters, ferrying drugs and weapons, or receiving a gruesome beating for failing a job.

He stepped forward, trying to escape the prickly embarrassment. "So, what're you gonna do with him?"

[member="Voska Naudir"]

 

[Anders]

"Anders," he replied. "I've got no people."

It stung to hear himself say that. Anders was abandoned sometime around nine years old, he couldn't remember, and ended up living in n a decrepit orphanage and the treets. The headmaster was a vile woman of ghastly proportions, and he fled the orphanage when he was twelve.

It was there he found the mercenary trade a suitable occupation. Eventually, of course. As a young boy he carried out petty jobs for local gangsters, ferrying drugs and weapons, or receiving a gruesome beating for failing a job.

He stepped forward, trying to escape the prickly embarrassment. "So, what're you gonna do with him?"

[member="Voska Naudir"]

 

[EllieEx]

"If it makes you feel any better, I understand, sort of. I haven't seen my kin in over 12 years..."

It wasn't that they were dead or he had been orphaned or anything, just that he left, things just kind of went down hill from there.

He stands up, yanking vann up with him, and pulling a chance cube from his pocket as he walked over to pick up his staff

"Got this little chance cube here. I told vann awhile back that it'd choose his death, Just hadn't decided what the options would be, till now..
If it lands on blue, I'm going to have mercy on him, Just a quick blaster bolt to the head, quick and clean. If it lands on red...
I have a disruptor rifle.."

He was serious too, it might not have been visible on him, but technically he did have a disruptor weapon on the bus with him

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

"Well, let's see it."

He turned to Voska and waited for him to flip the cube.

[member="Voska Naudir"]

 

[EllieEx]

Voska shrugs and and tosses the cube into the air, watching as it fell to the ground, rolling for a little while on the bus floor before finally coming to a halt. It landed on Blue.

"Today's your lucky day, Vann.." He Sighed "Droid! Stop the bus!"

The probe stops the bus and and then crawls across the floor, hoping onto one of the seats and looking up at voska "Bweep woop?"

"Film it, In case we lose physical proof" And then just like that, He dropped vann and pulled his MT-14 out from under his cloak, one pull of the trigger and the bus was bathed in Violet light. The gotal was almost definitely dead with a smoking hole in his head.

Voska then shook his head and grabbed his staff before heading back to his seat, slumping down and leaning his head back. "Well, I promised it'd be the cube's decision, can't go back on my word... Had hoped for a little more excitement, but.." Then his memory kicked in and he looked to anders "Anders you said? Tell me, Is that ship back there yours? the shiny one?"

[member="Anders O'Tor"]

 

[Anders]

Anders flinched at the sudden explosion of light and color, returning to normal without a moment's notice. He looked down at Vann, slumped against the wall as smoke rose from the cauterized wound. Serves the bastard right.

"She's mine, all right," he said, now beaming with pride. "She ain't all that pretty, but she's a fast ship. Saved my life more times than I can count."

[member="Voska Naudir"]